


The Moon Among the Stars

by Luluw5



Series: Moonstruck [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21991135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luluw5/pseuds/Luluw5
Summary: In an ever-shifting sea of stars, Tadashi looks to the moon.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Moonstruck [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616644
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	The Moon Among the Stars

“Not many people are out tonight. Not many stars either.”

“Yet you’re still bright as ever, moon-boy.” Tadashi bit back a grin. It wasn’t like him to be so forward with a near stranger, but meeting someone like him was just too exhilarating. The stranger, Tsukishima was his name, frowned. The expression bordered on petulant, as though the nickname were a taunt thrown on the playground rather than good-natured banter.

“I don’t actually glow,” Tsukshima insisted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You can’t see it,” Tadashi said with a smile, “but I told you, you’re like the moon among stars.”

“You make it sound so poetic, but it still doesn’t make sense.” Tsukishima’s nose wrinkled. “You’re saying everyone with a power glows?” It was plain to see that he hated not knowing. Or was it not understanding that bothered him? 

“I tried to explain it to you the other day-”

“And it didn’t make sense then either,” Tsukishima snapped. Tadashi looked at his feet and waited. The untrimmed grass was barely visible between his sneakers. If the moon were out, Tadashi knew that he would be able to count every single blade, but tonight the sky was uncharacteristically dark. 

“I’m sorry,” Tsukishima said finally. Tadashi imagined that the taller boy didn’t have much practice saying those words, given how they fell from his lips like rocks.

“Will you sit with me?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Tadashi glanced up. Tsukishima wasn’t looking at him. The taller boy gazed out over the valley, transfixed by the blue city lights. “The hill is pretty steep. You’ll get tired standing.”

“I don’t make a habit of sitting with strangers,” Tsukishima retorted, “especially weird ones who think human beings can glow.”

“If you really thought I was lying, then why did you come find me?” Tadashi asked.

“Who said I came for you?” Tadashi faked a cough to cover his smile. Tsukishima was obviously bluffing. Maybe the taller boy didn’t know how to lie, or maybe his curiosity was just getting the best of him, but Tadashi could tell by the way Tsukishima refused to meet his eyes that the question, the _possibility_ , burned through his mind.

Tadashi took advantage of the pause to think. He closed his eyes and tilted his face towards the sky. In his mind’s eye. Tsukishima flared to life. Wispy tendrils of silver light flowed off the boy in waves, filling the air around him with a white halo. One meter, two, the halo expanded until it completely filled Tadashi’s vision. 

“Wow,” he breathed “Beautiful.”

“You’re looking again?” Even without opening his eyes, Tadashi could hear the frown in Tsukishima’s voice. “That’s depraved. My face is up here, Yamaguchi.”

Tadashi kept his eyes closed, “Everyone glows, at least a little bit. It’s a part of who they are, nothing depraved about it. Maybe it’s…intimate? Like looking at someone’s heart.”

From the aloof way Tsukishima liked to carry on, Tadashi almost expected the other boy to retort with some cliché line like ‘I have no heart,’ but surprisingly he remained silent. Tadashi opened his eyes. Tsukishima was staring at him, a thoughtful look on his face. The taller boy had sat down while Tadashi had been talking. They were about a shoulder-length apart, which was much closer than Tadashi had anticipated. All the thoughts in Tadashi’s mind ground to a halt. What had he been talking about?

“So what does it mean, the glow?” Tsukishima mercifully brought him back down to Earth.

“Potential,” Tadashi answered immediately. His mouth found the words before his floundering mind fully registered the question. He had given his power a lot of thought over the years. When you had social anxiety like Tadashi, you tried to learn as much about the people around you as possible, so you could be prepared for anything. He knew that the bright people were usually stronger, more tolerant of him, often helpful or kind.

“Potential?” Tsukishima sneered, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Are you kidding me? That’s so lame.” Maybe 'kind' was overstating.

Tadashi’s face fell, but he managed a nervous laugh. “Sorry, maybe I can phrase it better.” His eyes fixed themselves on the dark outline of the mountains in the distance. The first stars of the evening were beginning to appear above their shadowy peaks. “It took me a long time to figure out. The people who glow brightest, they often have a power, but not always, it’s just that the people who have powers usually have the greatest ability to affect change. But not…important change? They help me, usually, the bright ones. I don’t know how to prove it, but the people who really shine are usually the ones who have the biggest impact on my life.

“Right now there are three bright lights in the city. The first one I noticed is over there,” Tadashi pointed to a well-lit section of the city. “They spend a lot of time around that commercial area. I don’t know who they are though. I haven’t gone to meet them yet. The second I can only see at night.” Tadashi closed his eyes and motioned towards the mountains, tracing the route of the bright orange star as it raced imperceptibly over the mountain road. “I don’t know if it’s because they only move at night, or if it’s because otherwise it’s not dark enough to see them. I like to come here and watch. I wish you could see, Tsukishima, it really is wonderful”

“You can sense them from this far away?” Tsukishima sounded a little in awe.

“The mountain star is the brightest person I’ve seen so far,” Tadashi opened his eyes and looked at Tsukishima, “until I met you.”

Tsukishima seemed taken aback, but he recovered quickly and resumed his annoyed expression. “So what? That means I’m going to be useful to you? No thanks, I’m not a tool.”

Tadashi shrugged. “I’m not looking to use you, but I think it’s nice to meet new people like me. When I close my eyes, I can see everyone moving around me, like a river.”

“Or a star map?” Tsukishima offered.

“Maybe, but I don’t think stars really move.” Tadashi bit his lip. “It’s more like a weather map, it moves and changes, and can sometimes tell me what’s going to happen.”

“That was vague,” Tsukishima snorted. “Didn’t you know you can’t trust weathermen?”

Tadashi smiled. “I guess I’m a bit too trusting. But what about you, Tsukishima? You seem pretty jaded. What’s your deal?” 

It was Tsukishima’s turn to shrug. “I’m nothing special, I don’t know why your power would lie to you. I just try and keep trouble from happening when people’s backs are turned.”

Tsukishima stiffened slightly when he met Tadashi’s gaze. The freckled boy’s eyes were round and curious, like an owl’s, or a child’s. “Now look who’s being vague, Tsukishima.”

“What can I say,” Tsukishima lay back on the hill and searched the night sky. He could still feel Tadashi’s eyes on him, but he ignored the strange boy in favor of the stars. “I’m just a normal guy. There’s no need for me to stand out in a spotlight.”

“Tsukki-” Tsukishima’s head whipped around, a scathing retort ready on his lips in response to the nickname, but was stopped by Tadashi’s smile. The strange boy’s eyes shone in the infant starlight, light mirrors in the grass. He had curled up on his side, no longer looking at the sky, but facing Tsukishima head-on. They both let the word hang between them, Tsukishima for sudden lack of response, and Tadashi for lack of conviction. As the silence stretched on, Tadashi plucked up his courage. He moistened his lips, “If it’s ok, I’d like to be your friend. You may think you don’t need a spotlight,” Tsukishima’s mouth moved as though he were about to cut in, Tadashi hurried to finish “but I want to show you that that’s because you _are_ one. A spotlight. The moon among stars.”

“Ok.” Tadashi’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’ll give you a chance, you star-headed weirdo.” Tsukishima had an unreadable expression on his face. He adjusted his glasses, and turned his face to the sky. “But you’re not allowed to call me ‘Tsukki.’”

“Sorry…,Tsukki.”

“ _Yamaguchi_.”


End file.
